Emmanuel onwa's Blog

Lagos State, which is the epicentre of the COVID-19 pandemic in Nigeria, is facing a new challenge.  It is running out of bed space for patients of the disease. The government of the city now says it  would adopt a strategy of home care treatment for mild cases. But experts are warning that could be dangerous. It's something many saw coming. Even the Lagos State government had always known its COVID-19 cases could explode beyond the capacity of its healthcare infrastructure. And that is exactly what's playing out at the moment. On average, the city now records 100 cases of COVID-19 every day. The government has been opening new isolation centers. But the infection rate is outpacing the building of these isolation centers. Professor Akin Abayomi, Commissioner of Health, Lagos State:“As we open new isolation facilities, they start to fill up relatively quickly. And we are running at about between 60 and 70 percent bed occupancy now.” Part of the reasons why there...

Professor Innocent Ujah, on Saturday, emerged the new President of Nigerian Medical Association, NMA. Professor Ujah was among other executive members elected at the end of the association’s 60th Annual General Conference and Delegates Meeting held online on Saturday. Ujah, a professor of Obstetrician & Gynaecologist, was the immediate past Director-General of the Nigerian Institute of Medical Research, NIMR, Yaba Lagos. He was born on November 6, 1954, and hails from Aidogodo-Okpoga, Okpokwu council of Benue State. Also elected into the National Officers Committee of the NMA to run the affairs of the association for the next two years were Professor Rasaaq Adebayo, 1st Vice President and Dr Daiyabu Ibrahim, 2nd Vice President. Others are Dr Phillips Ekpe, Secretary-General; Dr Saliu Oseni, Deputy Secretary-General; Dr Eric Anazodo, National Treasurer; Dr Jauro Pobe, National Financial Secretary, and Dr Uwah Aniekeme, National Publicity Secretary. With this new de...

 The total number of laboratories with COVID-19 testing capacity in Nigeria is now 29 across the country. The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control disclosed this in a message it posted on its Twitter handle, @NCDCgov, on Saturday. It said the number rose to 29 with the activation of a laboratory in Bauchi state. The message read, “We are pleased to announce the inclusion of an additional lab to the NCDC Molecular Laboratory Network: Bauchi State Reference Molecular Laboratory “This brings the total number of labs with the capacity to test for COVID-19 in Nigeria to 29.” The centre said work was in progress on two other laboratories in Kwara and Gombe States. The NCDC had last week announced the activation of two laboratories in Ogun and Katsina States. They are Afriglobal Medicare Lab, Ogun, and Sahel Centre for Molecular Diagnostics and Research, Katsina.

Three more COVID-19 deaths have been recorded in Lagos state, and 21 more patients have been discharged in Isolation centers. 6 females and 15 males Including a foreign national will be reuniting with the society. The state Ministry for Health disclosed this via its Twitter handle on Saturday evening. This brings to 50 the number of COVID-19 deaths in Lagos. The Ministry also announced that 21 COVID-19 patients have been discharged. ''3 additional #COVID19 deaths were recorded in Lagos bringing the total number of #COVID19 related deaths to 50. The patients; 6 from Mainland Infectious Disease Hospital, Yaba, 11 from Onikan, 3 from Agidingbi & 1 from Gbagada Isolation Centres were discharged having fully recovered & tested negative to #COVID19. This brings to 875, the number of #COVID19 discharged cases in Lagos now' he wrote Let's continue to practice proper hand hygiene, physical distancing and ensure we use face mask especially when in p...

The Abia State government confirmed on Saturday that the fleeing COVID-19 patient in the state had surrendered himself and members of his family to the Infectious Diseases Hospital (IDH), Aba, for management of the ailment. The state Commissioner for Information, Chief John Okiyi-Kalu, who disclosed this in a statement in Aba, said the patient, Emmanuel Ononiwu, reported at the IDH at 8:05 a.m. on Saturday with his wife and other family members. The state government had on Friday declared Ononiwu wanted after he disappeared from a holding facility in Aba shortly after he was confirmed positive for COVID-19. According to the commissioner, the state rapid response team ambulance had taken the man and his family members to the State Specialist Hospital and Diagnostic Center, Amachara, Umuahia, for isolation and management. Okiyi-Kalu said the tracing of other contacts of the patient had commenced .

The Borno Police Command has arrested 71 suspects for alleged kidnap, rape and procession of marijuana in various parts of the state. The arrests were made in the last five months, comprising about a dozen kidnappers that collected N6.2 million ransoms from their victims. While announcing arrests of suspects the Police Commissioner, Mohammed Aliyu at a news conference Saturday in Maiduguri; disclosed: “On April 7, 2020 Mallam Mohammed Sani of Murna village in Yobe state was arrested in Askira/Uba council for the kidnap of Dija Sajo and Aishatu Buba. “The suspect would later murder Sajo before the police and in collaboration with local hunters’ intervention to rescue Aishatu after a gun duel with kidnapers.” Aliyu, who was represented by DSP Edet Okon, the police spokesman said that efforts are being made to arrest four other accomplices. “Eight kidnap suspects have already confessed to the police for abducting two women,” he said, adding that the suspects...

Police  from the Enerhen Division, in Warri, Delta state have recovered two AK-47, two cut to size locally made pistols and about one hundred live ammunitions, cartridges allegedly abandoned in a car by suspected armed robbers around the Udu bridge. The robbers allegedly abandoned the vehicle with the arms when they sighted the Police around the bridge while descending at about 11:30 am. According to an eye witness, the robbers were driving in a Toyota Camry vehicle:  “it was at about 11:30 am today when the Toyota Camry, suspected to have been snatched was being driven by one of the gang members who was accompanied by another who sat on the passenger’s side”. On sighting the patrol team, as they descended the bridge, the gang immediately parked the vehicle off the road  and  fled. The police on approaching the abandoned vehicle  recovered two travelling bags where the two AK 47, two cut to size locally made guns and over a hundred live ammunitions ...